


The Dawn Will Come

by legendofthedwelf



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Emerald Graves, Hawke is Badass, I hate Despair demons, I thought tagging was easy, I was wrong, In the Fade, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Quiz Lavellan, The Anchor (Dragon Age), The Fade, how does the Fade work?, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-29 02:49:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7667374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/legendofthedwelf/pseuds/legendofthedwelf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events at Adamant Fortress, Inquisitor Quiz Lavellan thought he saw everything of the Fade. A trip to the Emerald Graves proved him wrong, when a Despair demon created a connection to the anchor and dragged him into the Fade once again. Though it seems that a long lost friend won't let him die so easily.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dawn Will Come

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea if the Fade works like I described it here. I just know that I hate Despair demons and I wanted to see those fuckers burnnnn. Also, I'm sorry if I used commas wrong, I have no clue whether to put a comma after direct speech or not, or whether to put a comma there at all.

When they entered the clearing after having walked for a very long time among throes of trees and grass and trees again, Dorian immediately halted the party with a sudden shout of 'STOP!'. Everyone froze and looked hastily around, trying to take everything in at once but not seeing anything, except an electric flickering of the air that most likely came from the mage himself. 

  
"What's wrong?" asked Cassandra, her shield held in front of her, ready to attack. 

  
"Something is terribly wrong here," came the hushed answer from the ‘Vint who stood still as a statue, his staff crackling electricity. 

  
"These woods are cursed, 'course something's wrong here.", Varric mumbled in the back, Bianca bolted and ready to shoot. The dwarf glanced at the Inquisitor, who looked back as he spoke but gave no indication that he was insulted by the jab to the land of his people, and his gaze landed back on Dorian, who hadn't relaxed his state a bit. 

  
"Dorian, what do you feel?", the elf asked, hiding a barely there wince as the anchor fizzled shortly but immediately calmed down again. 

  
The party was still for another period of time when the mage lowered his staff and stood straight again, though the electric crackling of the air hadn't let up. 

  
"There is a powerful presence in these woods, and it feels very sinister. Not to mention that we encountered an elvhen curse and it felt nothing like this. We need to proceed with extra caution." It was rare that the mage was talking seriously about something which made it clear that there really had to be... something at least. 

  
The others put their weapons away as well, and the mark fizzled once more, causing the Inquisitor to wince again. Varric snorted. 

  
"At least put your electricity away, I think Quiz' hair is about to stand up." 

  
"It is not my dashing self that causes this electric feeling in the air."

  
That got everyone's attention, and Cassandra made a disgusted noise. Quiz looked thoughtfully at his hand and the green glow there, and then around at the forest that grew on top of thousands of dead elves. He hoped that it wasn't an elvhen curse, though he would take that over it being demons any time. 

 

  
**DA:I**

 

  
The clearing seemed huge and endless. It took Dorian a very long time to jog from one end to another and he almost couldn't be heard even when he yelled as loud as he could. But just as he made his way back to the others again a rift suddenly opened right between him and his party, and he let out a few choice words that he was quite glad nobody could hear. 

  
From afar he heard Cassandra's war cry and suddenly a crossbow bolt was stuck in the demon right in front of him. Dorian grinned, giddy that Varric was able to hit even from that far away, before a wraith appeared next to him and ripped him out of his thoughts. 

  
Varric shot bolt after bolt while Cassandra and the Inquisitor charged forward, shield and swords raised. Quiz ducked his head when he got to the nearest demon, gripped his huge two hand sword in both hands and swirled it viciously around the demon, slicing clean through it. Cassandra reached a nearby wraith and slammed her shield against its hazy body, sending it back into the Fade.   
An energy blast from the rift almost knocked them all off their feet and a new wave of demons materialized. Dorian cast his magic without a pause, changing fluidly between fire, ice and electricity while Varric got his back. Just as Quiz was about to stab the nearest ghost a Despair demon appeared right in front of him. Too close for the elf to hit it with his sword. Before he could shout for help though, the demon screamed its terrible, _terrible_ scream, causing everyone to cover their ears in agony. But Quiz stood there, frozen and wide eyed, while the demon reached for him with its icy little hands. There were collective shouts of 'Inquisitor!' but Quiz didn't hear any of them. 

  
Just before the demon touched him his left hand shot forward and buried itself in the demon's icy body. Pure panic had lit up his eyes and he didn't think twice about willing the anchor to open a rift right where the demon was - right next to the already existing rift. 

  
The despair demon shrieked horribly loud but was sucked back into the Fade, along with all the remaining wraiths. But two overlapping rifts, one expelling, the other sucking in, seemed to be too much for the earthly world. The Inquisitor was still frozen and completely uncooperative when Cassandra dragged him away. Dorian was at his side in an instant, gentle fire trying to burn the ice away that had built around the anchor and the action snapped him out of his daze. Large purple eyes shot to the mage who focused on the hand he was trying to warm up and the elf belatedly realized that someone was talking to him rather urgently and the sound seemed to become louder and louder still until two armoured hands clapped him firmly on each cheek. Cassandra's face appeared in front of his, turning his head away from Dorian. 

  
"Inquisitor, focus! You need to close those rifts before they escalate!" 

  
Dorian finished thawing the elf's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, a self-indulgent gesture that was only partially flirty. 

  
Quiz still didn't move though his eyes were clearer, so it was Varric who hauled him up. From then it was automatic that Quiz raised his hand to close the rifts. Steadying hands were on him the entire time. 

  
The elf willed himself to concentrate. There was still a slight numbness in his left hand but Dorian's magic had done a good job of saving it. The anchor fizzled and crackled and finally the connection was made so that Quiz could close the rifts. His dazed eyes were glaring against the bright green light as he willed himself to stay conscious and just as he felt that he almost succeeded, coldness crept up his spine. Dimly he heard his companions shouting at him in concern as he felt his entire body going cold but he couldn't answer. He was staring into the rifts where a much larger version of the despair demon was staring back at him. He thought he even saw the edges of the rifts freeze over. 

  
Panic spread within him. He screamed just in time with the demon and with an adrenaline fuelled determination he snapped the rifts closed. Immediately his knees gave out beneath him and he saw the ground rushing towards him before he lost consciousness. 

 

  
**DA:I**  
  


Cassandra kept going on and on about how stupid it is to open a rift next to an already existing rift and why someone would stick his hand into a freezing demon of all things. She did a good job of hiding that she had been worried. Varric didn't look happy about the situation as well but covered it by snarking back at the Seeker. Dorian used every opportunity to touch Quiz, be it to steady him or to make sure his left hand wasn't still frozen. Normally that would fluster the elf but now he was thankful for it, seeing as he was still wobbly on his feet and felt quite dazed. The anchor pulsed and fizzled like mad but no rift was in sight and the mage also didn't feel anything out of the ordinary anymore.  

  
That didn't stop anyone from feeling on edge, though.

  
They considered going back to the camp and coming back freshly recharged (or not at all, Varric grumbled) but according to their map there was little else around the clearing except trees and a deep gorge which meant that it would be a waste to come here again instead of exploring the bit left now. Nobody was thrilled, though in the end the Inquisitor insisted and that was the end of the discussion. Not that it would stop the complaints. 

  
They had finally checked out the entire clearing and debated on where to go next when the anchor crackled dangerously loud and Quiz fell to his knees with a pained groan. The others were in fighting stance at once but no rift opened. In fact, nothing happened except the increase in volume of the elf's desperate cries.   
Dorian carefully crouched next to Quiz who had started to tremble, and intended to lay a hand infused with healing magic on his back when a scream tore through the elf's lips. Cassandra and Varric looked madly around to spot the source of attack but there was no threat around them. Another miserable scream erupted from deep within the elf's body and Dorian cursed as he saw the mark slowly freezing again. 

  
"Sparkler, what is going on?!", Varric shouted over the panicking cries, his crossbow lowered but still charged. 

  
"I don't know! The anchor is freezing again but there is no demon in sight!" The mage tried to push the ice away with fire but it was futile, it didn't seem to go away. 

  
"How can he be affected by a demon without one nearby?!" Cassandra snarled, her entire body tensed, ready to spring at anyone who seemed like a threat. 

  
Quiz suddenly struggled to get on his feet, his right hand clasped over one ear, the left hand held in front of him. Purple eyes filled with panic were fixated on it, on the anchor, it was as if he was staring at the Despair demon again- 

  
The Inquisitor screamed once more and made a movement as if he wanted to throw away his hand and cold understanding went through his companions. 

  
"Can it be that not only the anchor but his entire being is connected to the Fade?", Cassandra asked in horror as she stared at the elf who had his eyes squeezed shut, whimpers continuously falling from his lips. 

  
"It's the only explanation," Dorian mumbled as he tried to hold onto the elf lest he hurt himself. 

  
Varric cursed and unloaded his crossbow as it was useless against the current threat. "But it never happened before that a demon from the other side managed to affect him like that."

  
"It shouldn't even be possible,” Dorian explained, “the Fade cannot be connected to one singular point. When the anchor closes a rift there is one point where the Fade and the anchor are connected, but when the rift is closed that point disappears. A demon in the Fade can't possibly find the anchor, that would mean that the connection still exists but there is no rift in sight-" 

  
"But the Inquisitor had practically buried his hand in that demon and created two rifts, maybe the connection still stands because of that, but that is not important because what do we do now? When some douche bag demon is connected to the anchor we need to sever that connection unless we want to invite it to Skyhold!"

  
It was after that statement from the dwarf that they realized that the elf's cries had stopped. In fact, Quiz had sunk back to his knees and was now staring blankly at the anchor, faint shivers wracking his body. After a while he raised his head and stared confusedly at his companions.   
"Did we...get it?" 

  
Dorian, who kneeled again at the Inquisitor's side, asked carefully: "Get what?" 

  
"The demon. The...little one, with that ice..."

  
"Thin arms, dark coat, screech to scare off a Qunari, jumps all over the place, spews beams of ice?" The elf looked gratefully at Varric. 

  
"Yes, that one." 

  
"There hasn't been one here since we closed those rifts, Inquisitor." Quiz sluggishly turned his head to stare at Cassandra, who wore a slight frown.

 

"Inquisitor, have you seen such a demon?" 

  
"I thought...", Quiz licked his suddenly dry lips, "I thought I heard its scream..." 

  
"Well, you certainly screamed as if you did. Show me your hand.", Dorian demanded as he already started a fire spell to melt the ice that was once again surrounding the anchor. 

  
They let the mage work in silence for a few moments. 

  
"So, dear Inquisitor, I'm sure you must have reached the same delightful conclusion as we did.", Dorian said with his usual flourish to lighten the mood.   
Quiz swallowed and tried to focus. He had heard and felt the demon and it definitely had been real, but apparently there hadn't been one here. And since the anchor was frozen over and with what he saw in those two overlapping rifts... Quiz shuddered violently and took a deep breath before anyone could ask him whether he was alright. 

  
"Somehow...I'm connected to a Despair demon in the Fade that is able to affect me through...through the anchor."

  
"Which sucks." 

  
Cassandra made a disgusted noise. 

  
"Alright", Varric spoke up and the elf turned his head towards him, "but if that demon is able to torment you from there, shouldn't you be able to do it from here as well?" The dwarf wanted to add that they could ask Dorian for magic support but the look of pure horror and the violent tremors wracking the elf's body turned his tongue to ash. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. 

  
Everyone had noticed the elf's reaction and Dorian put his other hand with healing magic on the Inquisitor's back again, in the hopes of calming him down. He didn't want to know just what the elf had seen in the Fade, but they needed to do something. 

  
"We should...we should go back to the camp. And from there...we should contact Solas. He will know what to do.", the elf struggled with his words. 

  
"And until then you want to continue having random rendezvous’ with some demons?" It was a mean thing to say, the dwarf was aware, but avoiding the issue wouldn't solve it. 

  
Quiz shook his head a few times as if that would make the issue go away entirely. "No, but... Let me rest for a bit, I can't think right now." 

  
Cassandra took a deep breath and everyone almost expected her to make a disgusted noise again, but she only sighed loudly. "We should contact the camp so they can contact Solas. Until then we need to make sure that the Inquisitor is alright, and that no new demons or rifts or anything else appears again. And we should leave this Maker forsaken place."

 

 

**DA:I**

 

  
In the end they only put little distance between their small party and the clearing, as the Inquisitor was still wobbly on his feet and had almost collapsed again were it not for Dorian's ever present arm. Nobody was keen on stopping anywhere in the forest but they couldn't really carry the elf (well, they could, and Dorian would be overjoyed, but if they were attacked it would be more troublesome than helpful) so they leaned Quiz against a tree and sat around him, hands always near their weapons. 

  
Quiz did not notice a lot of what happened around him. He drifted in and out of consciousness and the icy feeling in his limbs didn't go away, no matter how much fire magic was cast. His body's trembling also didn't stop. He didn't tell his companions about what he saw in the rifts, though he didn't doubt that they knew that he had seen _something_ , for he couldn't actually process himself what he had seen. He was trying to fight off the misery that wanted to take hold of his mind, desperation that he shouldn’t feel because there was no need. He isn’t alone, his companions are with him and they will help him. No demon can take a hold of him! He won’t allow it!

  
A buzzing filled the air again but the elf didn't acknowledge it as his own ears had been ringing non-stop ever since that damned rift had opened. Dimly he thought he heard Cassandra's yell but he felt too sluggish to react, too exhausted due to fighting off a growing sense of helplessness. Someone was shaking him though he couldn't see who it was and wasn't it strange that he hadn't realized that his eyes had fallen shut? 

  
Suddenly a sharp pain flared in his left hand and he ripped his eyes open to stare at Cassandra who shook him violently, her eyes wide in... was that fear? Varric stood behind her, his crossbow aimed at something behind Quiz, which was the moment he realized that he wasn't leaning against the tree anymore. He felt electricity and fire at his side where Dorian stood in fighting stance, looking in the same direction as Varric. 

  
Quiz wasn't sure he wanted to turn around. 

  
The anchor fizzled violently, sending sharp pulses of pain through the elf's body which he couldn't ignore anymore. One look at the Seeker, hoping it was reassuring, and he spun around, his left hand raised, his right hand about to grab his sword. The moment he caught sight of the very clear and big rift he also saw the demon from before. Pure terror gripped his lungs and made it difficult to breathe. He willed the anchor to close the rift, he practically screamed at it in his head but as soon as the hand was raised a violent blast sent him backwards, against Cassandra and further away, he felt the impact with the ground but didn't realize the pain, the only thing in his mind was a soul shattering screech. He thought he was about to pass out from the intensity, but he forced his once again closed eyes open. He couldn't afford to lose himself in the fear, he couldn't!  
Looking around felt like thousands of needles piercing his eyes but he tried to ignore it. His companions laid around the rift, dazed but visibly trying to get up. Quiz pushed himself up on his knees, wheezing and trembling but he was determined to close the damned rift, determined to save his party and to bring them all safely home. With a desperate amount of strength he raised his hand, the anchor crackling dangerously, and he commanded the rift close. It was violent, and painful but he managed it - with a last screech the demon couldn't be seen anymore and the buzzing in the air disappeared. 

  
Quiz slumped together, his head falling forward onto the ground. He felt drained and empty, his head pounding in time with his heartbeat which was frantic. 

  
"Inquisitor-", a cough interrupted Cassandra who was struggling to her feet, "Inquisitor, are you alright?" 

  
The elf only managed to make a thumbs-up gesture, too drained to give a verbal response. 

  
"Well, that was fun. Let's not do that again, though." 

  
"For once I agree with you, Sparkler." 

  
A breathy laugh escaped Quiz' lips, he couldn't help himself. He was still shaking, his body felt like he stood beneath the waterfall in Emprise Du Lion and his ears were still ringing with the echo of the Despair demon's screams. But they were all alive, and Solas would have a solution for the anchor problem, and Dorian could warm him up with his magic which would inevitably lead to groping and- 

  
As the anchor began to fizzle once more and the unmistakably feel of a rift opening buzzed through the air, Quiz' mind was strangely calm in the face of the incoming feeling of terror and misery. His thoughts were focused on only one fact: _not again_. _Not again_ , _not again_ , _not again_ pounded in his mind when he saw his companions' faces contort in rage and horror and on the edge of his vision green was spreading as a screech filled the air once more. He didn't want to see the truth, the truth that a demon managed to stay connected to the anchor and opened a rift from the Fade right where he was, the truth that he was about to be sucked into the Fade involuntarily and he couldn't do anything about. 

  
He felt ice hands grabbing his body and he slowly turned his head, looking over his shoulder into the dark cave under a hood where a face should be, from a monstrous despair demon and the elf didn't need to turn his head to know that his companions saw it as well. 

  
But instead of being the fierce Inquisitor who looked an arch demon into the face and laughed (though that was only in the stories), instead of showing a brave facade to prove that he wouldn't cave no matter what was to come, desperation took hold of Quiz' soul and he screamed as he was pulled into the Fade and the rift closed behind him. 

 

 

**DA:I**

 

It was cold, it was dark, it was painful. Quiz didn't recognize something else. It was a miracle he felt anything at all. All around him was green, darkish goo and he wasn't sure if he was standing or lying down or floating. He would've doubted that he is alive at all, if it weren't for the fact that he had been here before. But back then at Adamant Fortress he hadn't been alone. Back then there hadn't been a despair demon breathing down his neck. Now said demon was in front of him, all around him and it even feels as if it was within him. Where the elf had felt fear and terror spreading through him in the Emerald Graves, there was a weariness that ate at him now.

  
The demon emitted another scream and Quiz fell sobbing to knees, hands clutching at his ears. He could feel the ice from the anchor spreading over his hand and down his arm, and his other hand started freezing over as well. Thousands of little cold hands grabbed at him, hauling him up and in all directions and constantly screeching and screaming, scratching and tearing at his nerves. 

  
He felt hopeless. While he had been able to hold onto the fact that his companions were with him before he was dragged into the Fade, now he was truly alone. Truly, utterly alone, and he can't do a thing about it. He doesn't know magic, he is neither templar nor Seeker, he isn't a Qunari with superior strength. No, he is only an elf who had ever only focused on mastering his skills with a two-handed weapon and that is utterly useless to him when he can't lift his sword. He can still feel it, the Cleansing Rune pulsing softly at his side though his arms won't move. Wherever he was dragged his sword was dragged around with him, mocking him as a reminder of how completely useless he is.   
Technically, Quiz knew what was going on. That the demon was influencing him, that the desperation already sat deeply within his soul and that he needed to fight it, fiercely and quickly, but _he can't_. Coldness spread over his limbs and into his body, his heart was beating frantically in the face of his upcoming inevitable doom but _he can't move_. 

  
And he was all the more miserable from his helplessness and the fact that he will die here, cowering and crying (when did tears start to fall? They were already frozen over) and as a traitor, the Inquisitor has forsaken those who believe in him, _the dawn won't come for this world_.

  
The Inquisitor felt like giving up.

 

  
**DA:I**

 

  
Quiz was dimly aware of the ice in his limbs receding. Not much and barely noticeable, but he felt his heart pumping blood again, albeit very slowly. Occasionally the elf thought that stripes of warmth moved over his body, but they were gone as soon as he felt them. It must be his imagination, though something nagged at his mind, something prevented him from finding peace in the numbness of his body. 

  
The anchor gave a short pulse. Utterly unrecognizable in normal circumstances but incredibly forceful now that everything else had been so quiet. The elf groaned slightly and felt his left hand twitching without his control. 

  
Why, oh why is he being revived? He succumbed, he had given up, why should he be given a second chance when he had already proven that he isn't worthy?   
A loud roar blew past his ear and his eyes flew open reflexively, his hands jerking into the direction where he last felt his blade. The sudden movements were protested by his sore muscles and closing his eyes was _very_ tempting but he couldn't, first he couldn't resist the pull of unconsciousness, now there is no resisting the pull of awareness. His mind was in turmoil, he couldn't process what he was seeing with what he was feeling. 

  
There was still greenish darkness all around him, though suddenly fire and ice were battling against each other and in their midst stood one man he thought he knew. The man, a mage it seemed, fought viciously and firmly against the demons. His staff was constantly in motion, red wrath alighting the Fade.   
Quiz hadn't realized how he pushed himself up a few inches to see better and it was that moment that the mage whirled around, fried a demon and looked right into the elf's eyes. 

  
"Get up, Inquisitor! These demons can't drink your tears when you aren't shedding any!" 

  
That statement, along with the use of his title and the commanding voice spurred the warrior into action. But just as he managed to push himself towards his sword which lay a few feet away from him his strength already gave out again and he collapsed near his weapon, coughing and trembling. 

  
"You did well, now don't give up! Try again; I will hold them back for you!"

  
Quiz didn't understand why that mage was so persistent and so optimistic that he could hold the demons back all by himself, or why he thought that the elf could manage to get up _again_ , but apparently the man had faith and the elf couldn't fail that, not again. 

  
So he pushed again, past his body's limits which were screaming at him to stop moving but pressing on, his arms reaching into the general direction of his sword. As his thawed fingers made contact with the elvhen blade and the Cleansing Rune pulsed as if to welcome him a strangled sob escaped his lips as new strength spread through him. Not much, barely enough to stand up and swing a huge sword around but desperation existed in different ways. Purple eyes barely registered what they saw, only that the mage disappeared behind a dark shape that was floating in the air and the only thing to be seen was reddish light around the shape, _demon_ , his brain supplied. 

  
Memories of what had happened trickled into being, the attack, the Despair demon, the monstrous one in the rifts- 

  
Quiz charged forward. Not ridden by noble motives like righteous wrath or divine determination, but fear and terror pushed him into moving, refusing to let him back away - the Inquisitor drove his blade into the demon quietly and deadly. 

  
Everything stopped. The screaming and screeching stopped, the air seemed to stand still, even the fire ceased to flicker for a moment. 

  
The Fade convulsed violently and the demon hunched over itself before it practically imploded. The pull swept the elf off his feet and he collapsed to where the demon existed before, the sword falling out of his hands and clattering at his feet. Sinking painfully to his knees he stared straight ahead, at the mage who held his staff poised for battle but also wore a concerned expression. 

  
"...Hawke?" 

  
Quiz felt his strength slipping away again and his upper body tipped forward with the weight of the realization that the Champion of Kirkwall, the mage that stayed behind the last time they were in the Fade, who stayed behind to fight against the Nightmare, was still alive. 

 

  
**DA:I**

 

  
Quiz stayed hunched over like this, his heavy head cushioned on his lead arms and just breathed. Hawke hadn't said much since the elf collapsed, the man simply seated himself beside him and slowly warmed him up with fire. It was similar to the way Dorian did it, just with a lot less inappropriate touching and lewd comments. That reminder sent a pang through him and he heaved a deep breath, eternally grateful that he managed to do that without problems again.   
"Take it easy. They hit you pretty bad and it will take a lot of time to recover from that." 

  
"Hawke..," the elf breathed which was followed by a body wrecking cough and he struggled to push himself up on his arms. Now that the effects of the Despair demons receded, determination to get up, to recover and return to his companions filled him and pumped his blood faster through his body. He _knew_ he shouldn't push himself so much so fast but he couldn't linger any longer unless he wanted to become insane. 

  
In the end he only succeeded in kneeling on his hands and knees, wheezing and shaking like a leaf in the wind and aware that it was a completely undignified position for the Inquisitor to be in. Hawke took pity on him and moved him into a seated stance, supported by the mage's hand on his shoulder. Warmth spread down his arm and he leaned into it, eyes slipping shut. 

  
"When you're already awake enough to move around, then it'd be best for you to stay awake, Inquisitor." 

  
Quiz lolled his head to the side to stare at his saviour. Hawke hadn't changed much since Adamant Fortress, in fact, apart from the exhaustion of the fight the man looked the same as he did back then. 

  
"What...what happened to you?" 

  
"Well, I could ask the same of you, Inquisitor."

  
Both stared at each other, but the elf was the first to break the eye contact, blaming it on his dizziness. 

  
"A demon...had a link to the anchor...and...it sucked me into the Fade..."

  
The man whistled. 

  
"That sucks." 

  
A tired laugh bubbled up in Quiz' throat, breaking the tension a bit. 

  
"Varric had the same reaction." 

  
Hawke's eyes turned forlorn. "I bet he did." 

  
The elf raised weary eyes to Hawke's face again, not knowing whether he'd overstep some kind of boundaries if he continued to talk.

  
"How is Varric?" 

  
"Good. He met a friend, Bianca, who had some helpful information on Dark Spawn and Red Templars. And he told me some stories about you and your hero-ish adventures." 

  
"Hero-ish! That is a good word for me!" Hawke laughed loudly, his eyes crinkling fondly at the memory. 

  
"He also misses you, a lot." 

  
"Yeah, I guess..." 

  
The elf felt stronger fire washing over him, likely intended to distract him lest they talk about the elephant in the room. He closed his eyes once more, concentrating on recovering faster and fully. 

 

  
**DA:I**

 

  
"I don't know why I'm alive, Inquisitor."

  
Quiz stopped his wobbly attempts at walking and simply stood there, looking expectantly at Hawke. 

  
"I...after I stayed behind to ensure your escape, I fought the Nightmare for a long while. Time is strange in the Fade and nothing changed, my mana wasn't dwindling, my enemy didn't weaken. The fight was pretty much useless and futile. Until suddenly the Nightmare simply...disappeared. Leaving me here alone and no clue about what I should do now. I wandered around aimlessly when suddenly this horrible screeching started and a huge despair demon opened a rift and pulled you in. I thought not much time must have passed, and then I learn that it's been a few months."

  
The mage fell silent. After a beat the elf resumed his walking exercises, but they were half-hearted at best. 

  
"After you stayed behind... The Wardens offered their services to the Inquisition, in the hopes to be able to redeem themselves. They are doing good work, always aware of the calling, but loyal and righteous." 

  
"I see. That's good." 

  
They fell into a companionable silence. Quiz was almost back to full power, no dizziness, no icy feeling, no fear gripping at his mind. He picked up his sword, swinging it around a few times to loosen his muscles and to get ready for battle. Though it was strange that no new demons or other things attacked them. The elf looked around for the first time, and instead of rocks and water and things floating in the sky, like the last time he had been here, now there was only a greenish landscape with a dark fog all around them. The only light came from the fire Hawke had started and the sky where the black city loomed far away. 

  
"We....we are _in_ the Fade, yes?" 

  
"Last time I checked, yeah." 

  
"But this looks like...like..."

  
"Like we're stuck somewhere in-between?"

  
The elf nodded. 

  
"Well, the Divine, or her ghost or whatever it was, said the last time that you'd have to defeat the demon who brought you in, or keeps you in, but we already did that. But we didn't get out, so we must have gotten stuck somehow, somewhere."

  
"Yes, but how do we get out now?" 

  
"I don't know, Inquisitor."

  
Quiz frowned and swung his sword a few more times. This is too strange. The demon was definitely defeated and yet... 

  
"Could it be...that some of those smaller demons keep us here?" 

  
Hawke looked less than pleasing. "That could be hundreds! How could we possibly find the right one among them? Besides we'd need to _find_ them in the first place!" 

  
Quiz looked thoughtfully at his left hand where the anchor is pulsing softly. It had been quiet, too quiet ever since he woke up in the Fade; it was simply glowing innocently but nothing more. 

  
"What are you thinking about, Inquisitor?" There was a warning edge in Hawke's voice. The mage looked at the elf with something like apprehension, one hand near his staff, slightly crackling electricity. Quiz chose not to respond, instead waiting for Hawke to speak his mind. "I saw...your mark had been frozen over. The ice wouldn't go away as long as there had been Despair demons around. So I guess they somehow had a connection to you via your mark. Though I have no explanation for that."

 

"I can open rifts with the anchor. The demon got hold of it and dragged me here."

  
"That...is terrifying." 

  
"What would happen if I opened a rift in the Fade?" 

  
"Maker, Inquisitor no!" 

  
"Why? Maybe we'll be right where I got abducted, and my companions will hopefully still be there-"

  
"And maybe we'll just lead demons to us if there are still some attached to you!"

  
"That wouldn't be that much of a problem now would it?" 

  
"Why you-!" Hawke got to his feet, his staff ominously crackling as he went face to face with the elf. "You were practically catatonic when you got here! There is no telling what will happen to you if we do that now. Have you forgotten that not too long ago you were lying on the ground sobbing and screaming?" 

  
Quiz blushed at that in shame and lowered his eyes. "That was just the demon's effect on me.", he mumbled. 

  
"And it will happen again!"

  
"Well, you'll be here to snap me out of it, right?" 

  
"I...," Hawke sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping and the tension in the air dissolving. "Of course I will. But it is dangerous, Inquisitor. There is no guarantee what will happen, and you can't die here." 

  
A quiet settled over the both of them. 

  
"We need to be careful. And ready to attack. We can't underestimate the Fade."

  
Quiz smiled slightly. "Yes Hawke."

  
"This isn't funny Inquisitor."

  
"I'm aware." 

  
Another heavy sigh. "Alright, do it then." 

  
The elf raised his hand and concentrated. It was strange that he was so optimistic after what had already happened since he was sure that it definitely won't be that easy. But they had to get out of here. 

  
The anchor fizzled slightly and Quiz focused. A burst of green energy appeared in the vast nothingness and a screech tore through the air. 

  
**DA:I**

 

  
The Inquisitor is the most powerful person in all of Thedas. Hawke was tempted to scoff at that, but he was busy throwing fire everywhere so said Inquisitor won't freeze completely and _die_. He himself was barely holding on to his sanity but it must be worse for the elf since the lesser demon seemed to take advantage of its connection to the anchor and practically screamed right into the elf's being. Though Quiz was in a better shape than the first time. The mage had seen him flinch violently after he had opened the rift but the reaction was differently. Instead of crumbling down like a puppet that had its strings cut the Inquisitor took the terror and the fear to push on, to attack viciously and quickly. It was admirable, really, but it was bound to exhaust the elf considerably. Already his movements became slower, his reactions more sluggish. 

  
A blast sent the elf to the ground next to Hawke, who immediately threw a barrier over them. 

  
"Is this the same demon as before?"

  
"It can't be. You had definitely finished in off."

  
"Can we be so sure about that? You said the Nightmare simply disappeared. It could be the same here. We have no way of knowing if maybe there will be more demons and if we can even escape them and if the rift I opened will get us our of here-"

  
"Inquisitor, you need to stay clear headed so stop talking nonsense!" 

  
"I need to talk if I don't want to get lost!"

  
Quiz jumped to his feet with jerky movements, a wild gleam in his eyes. There was ice all over his body and Hawke couldn't melt it all away. The mage closed briefly his eyes, focusing his energy for one big attack that hopefully might help decimate the number of the enemy. 

  
"Listen Inquisitor! You are not lost now and you weren’t lost before! You might have been desperate, you might have felt hopeless, but you didn't succumb! The grief hadn't taken a hold of you, the misery had not infested your mind! You can still stand, you can still fight! So fight, Inquisitor, to escape from here, to go back where you belong, to show the world that they can't break you, no matter what! Go!" 

  
Fire erupted from beneath Quiz, surrounding him. It infested itself within his body and soul, his sword gleamed white in its light. Nothing stood against him, and the demon screeched before the sword cut it into pieces. The flames licked all over the Fade and set it ablaze, the inferno touched everything and left nothing unharmed. 

  
Hawke collapsed where he stood, his mana suddenly all but used up. No demon was in sight and the Inquisitor strode over to the rift he had opened, no ice on his body and his stance confident and determined. There was a pull in the air, probably coming from the rift, and the elf was grinning triumphantly as he looked into it. 

  
"It worked! Hawke, it _worked_! I can see my companions. We can escape from here!" 

  
The pull got stronger, though it wasn't enough to move the mage from where he lay. The man was utterly paralyzed, and the Inquisitor realized it as well. The smile disappeared and was replaced by a shocked grimace that turned into a horrified one as the rift's power got stronger still. 

  
Hawke knew that he will he be left behind. The risk to run back and haul him up would be too great to attempt. He wasn’t sure what would become of him now that his powers were all used up but at least he would die with the knowledge that he helped the Inquisitor survive.

  
Quiz ran back though, and his face showed that he was absolutely livid. The elf basically dragged the mage towards the rift, all the while cursing him with a vocabulary that a supposed holy man shouldn't even possess. 

  
The sensation of being forcefully sucked through space was entirely uncomfortable and the landing was very much less than pleasant. But the feeling of grass beneath his hands and the sound of birds chirping more than made up for it. 

 

  
**DA:I**

 

  
Quiz could now differentiate between several types of desperation. One is that which is caused by the despair demons. Another on is the dread that was filling him in seemingly hopeless battles. A new type is the desperation that coursed through him as he saw Hawke lying on the ground as the rift was about to suck the elf back into his world. Without the mage. The mage who was the reason that the elf was even still alive.

  
Quiz didn't think. In that moment he only saw Varric's stricken face when he would learn that Hawke hadn’t been able to escape the Fade _again_. He was sure the guilt would eat him alive. He _knew_ that he had to safe the man, no matter what. 

  
Cursing with every word he learned from Bull, Sera and Varric he hauled Hawke up and towards the rift and shoved the mage almost violently through it, basically jumping after him. He ignored the surprised cries from his companions, the unbelieving 'Hawke?!' from Varric, and angled his left hand to the rift to close it with all his remaining powers. 

  
The resulting blast was enough to force him to his knees _once again_ but the following silence was balm for his mind. Quiz' body tipped forward, right into the arms of a certain Tevinter mage. 

  
" _Kaffas,_ Inquisitor..." 

  
The elf laughed weakly in response, allowing himself to relax into the embrace for once and not thinking of any possible implications. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So, first work published in fandom, yay. English is sadly not my native language, German is, but even in German I have no clue about the usage of commas. The ending is a bit rushed, but that was also where my muse left me. In comparison I think the beginning is quite long, but well. Also, I had two friends look over this, but I changed things all the time, so most mistakes will be my own. 
> 
> Should anyone want to follow a blog that is very very irregularly online and posts mainly Dragon Age and Supernatural stuff, here's mine:  
> [legendofthedwelf](http://legendofthedwelf.tumblr.com)
> 
> Also, in case someone wants a rebloggable link: [The Dawn Will Come](http://legendofthedwelf.tumblr.com/post/148399765109/the-dawn-will-come)


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